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23 Oct 2013

'Important Discussions' Abbott Defends Randall's Cairns Trip

Comment. Corruption as usual from Tony Abbott. He claims Don Randall and Warren Entsch couldn't use a phone for a discussion during Randall's taxpayer-funded Queensland trip to buy a rental property. Entsch had his own lucrative 'runway scam' supplying the RAAF with cement from his own company to build runways for his old employer the RAAF. Back then Abbott defended Entsch.

by Jonathan Swan
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has provided the first explanation from the government for WA MP Don Randall's taxpayer-funded trip to Cairns, saying Mr Randall had ''very important discussions'' with the then Coalition whip.
Mr Randall, who also took possession of an investment property during the overnight stay with his wife, has refused on seven separate occasions to answer questions from Fairfax Media on the issue.
Fairfax Media revealed last week that Mr Randall billed taxpayers $5259 for his Cairns trip in November 2012 on the grounds of "electorate business."
A week later the MP updated his pecuniary interests, saying: "My wife and I have taken possession of the house at the Cairns location. We
intend to rent the house as an investment."
After three days of intense media pressure Mr Randall promised late last week to refund taxpayers to "alleviate any ambiguity".
Yet Mr Abbott, speaking on Fairfax Radio on Wednesday, suggested the trip was justified.

Liberal member for Canning, Don Randall, pictured during question time in 2009. Photo: Stefan Postles
"The gentleman in question [Mr Randall] tells me that . . .
he went from Perth to Cairns to have some very important discussions
with the whip," Mr Abbott. The whip at the time was Leichardt MP Warren
Entsch, whose electorate takes in Cairns.
But when quizzed by The Australian Financial Review, Mr
Entsch refused to divulge the content of those discussions and admitted
he did not know if they constituted "electorate business" as Mr Randall
had claimed.
Mr Entsch said that he had met confidentially with Mr Randall
in Cairns for a "good couple of hours" and that the "time he spent with
me was completely legitimate".
He added that in Mr Randall's view, the confidential conversation could not have taken place on the phone.

Former chief opposition whip Warren Entsch. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Asked why Mr Randall could not have used a telephone – rather
than flying more than 3000 kilometres on business class flights with
his wife to the same location of his investment property – the Prime
Minister said some discussions were "best done face to face".
"There are certain things that just have to happen face to
face and look, members of Parliament are entitled to travel to have
important meetings because teleconferencing is sometimes no substitute
for a face-to-face discussion," Mr Abbott said.
"Now I'm not defending any particular action and look over
the years there have been a lot of things which look contrived I've got
to say."
Later asked why Mr Randall's wife went on the Cairns trip
given it involved a work meeting, Mr Abbott ignored the question before
being driven away.
The Prime Minister has resisted taking action against his
colleagues for questionable expense claims, despite a series of stories
by Fairfax Media, revealing that a quarter of the Coalition cabinet,
including Mr Abbott, had billed taxpayers thousands of dollars to attend
weddings.
Mr Abbott said he was "not ruling out improvements" to the
entitlements system, but he had yet to see an idea that would be better
than the current arrangements.
"I appreciate the public are always concerned and annoyed
whenever there are stories of politicians allegedly misusing
entitlements," Mr Abbott said.
"I'm not saying that we are never going to change the system. I am always vigilant for ways to improve.
"The difficulty is that whatever the system is there's always going to be arguments at the margin."
Mr Randall has yet to explain another $5000 trip to Melbourne
with a family member on a Saturday last September, which he claimed as
"sittings of Parliament" despite the fact Parliament has not sat in
Melbourne since 1927.
Mr Randall has refused numerous times to say what he was
doing in Melbourne on that Saturday and whether he and his wife attended
the West Coast Eagles AFL semi-final that night. The family member who
accompanied Mr Randall flew back to Perth after spending the Saturday in
Melbourne.
Mr Randall has also spent thousands on books including
children's cookbooks, a guide to Broadway musicals and multiple copies
of Guinness World Records. He said in a statement that these were
purchased "as gifts for community groups and schools in my electorate".
It is understood that Mr Randall's Cairns trip has been
referred to the Australian Federal Police. The AFP is not currently
investigating Mr Randall, but it is understood the Finance Department
has been asked to examine the trip.

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